How Many Five-Year Plans Were There

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Jun 23, 2023 12:19 PM IST

Introduction

There were twelve five-year plans in India. The idea of a planning commission became prominent in the years when we were striving for independence. Various Industrialists came together and were having different ideas about the planned economy in India. Joseph Stalin was the first person to implement a planning commission in the U.S.S.R. We were inspired by him and started our planning commission post-independence.

First Five-Year Plan (1951–1956)

This was the first plan implemented by the Nehru government in the Year 1951. It focused on the agricultural development of the country. It was based on the Harrod-Domar model with few modifications. It achieved a target of 3.6% more than the expected target of 2.1%.

Second Five-Year Plan(1956–1961)

It was implemented in 1956 and based on the P.C Mahalanobis model in 1953. It focused on Industrial development but lagged behind its target by 0.3%.

Third Five-Year Plan(1961–1966)

This was the third plan under the Nehru government and was called “Gadgil Yojna” after Deputy Chairman D.R Gadgil. It initially focused on agricultural development and the production of wheat. But it was a time when India faced wars. So, the focus was shifted to the Defence Industry.

Also, this plan was not successful.

First Plan Holiday

In the next three years, there weren't any plans as the Last Plan flopped. So, the next three years that is from the year 1966 to 1969 were declared as holidays. The main reasons were Indo-Pakistani and Indo-Sino War. After this, we focused equally on the Agricultural and Industrial sectors.

Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969–1974)

This was the first plan implemented under Indira Gandhi. It focused on growth with stability and the defence sector. During this time also India faced wars. This plan achieved a target of only 3.3% against the target of 5.7%. The green revolution was started and 14 banks were nationalised.

Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974–1978)

The duration of the plan was from 1974 to 1978. The main issues were the eradication of poverty, the creation of employment and the defence sector. This plan was overall declared as successful.

Rolling Plan

The Fifth plan was terminated after 4 years and this plan came into existence in 1980. It focused on the budget of the ongoing year. It focused on long-term development plans. But was again replaced by the Sixth Five year plan.

Sixth Five-Year Plan(1980–1985)

This was implemented in 1980. The objectives were the removal of poverty, Self-reliability. This also focused on Infrastructural development. It achieved success and gained 0.5% more than the targeted value.

Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985–1990)

This was the first plan under the Rajiv Gandhi government. The private sector was prioritised for the first time. It focused on a self-sufficient economy and the upgradation of technology.

Annual plans

For the next two years, there weren't any five-year plans. The annual plans were made twice.

Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992–1997)

This was launched in 1992 by Narsimha Rao’s government. The human resources i.e education, employment and health sectors were prioritised. It achieved a success rate of 6.8% against the target of 5.6%.

Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997–2002)

It focused on growth with justice and equality. This was started in 1997 under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This was the 50th year of independence. However, this plan was not successful.

Few objectives of Ninth Five year plan is listed below :

Population control.
Creating jobs by prioritizing agriculture and rural development.
Poverty eradication.
Ensure enough food and water availability for the underprivileged.
Primary health care facilities and other essential necessities are available.
Each child in the country will receive primary education.

Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002–2007)

It aimed to reduce poverty and double the per capita income in the next 10 years. It was overall successful but couldn't reach its target.

The following are the key goals of the Tenth Five-Year Plan:

Achieve annual GDP growth of 8%.
By 2007, the poverty rate will have been reduced by 5%.
Providing at least one addition to the labour force with gainful and high-quality employment.
Reduce gender disparities in literacy and salary rates by at least 50% by 2007.
A 20-point programme was launched.
Growth target: 8.1%; achieved: 7.7%.
To reduce regional inequities, the Tenth Plan was planned to use a regional rather than a sectoral strategy.
For the tenth five years, expenditure of 43,825 crore (US$5.5 billion) is planned.

Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007–2012)

This was under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh. It was formulated by C. Rangarajan. Its theme was “rapid and inclusive growth”.

It basically concentrated on:

Distance education and the convergence of formal, non-formal, distant, and information technology education institutions.
Poverty alleviation requires rapid and inclusive growth.
The emphasis is on the social sector and service delivery within it.
Education and skill development provide empowerment.
Gender inequality should be reduced.
The long-term viability of the environment.
Increase agricultural, industrial, and service growth rates to 4%, 10%, and 9%, respectively.
By 2009, all people will have access to safe drinking water.
Boost agricultural growth to 4%.

Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012–2017)

Its main theme was “ Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable growth”. It achieved a growth rate of 8%. Its duration was from 2012 to 2017. However, it was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015.

The Twelfth Five-Year Plan included the following goals:

To develop 50 million new non-agricultural job possibilities.
To eliminate gender and social disparities in school enrollment.
Increasing access to higher education.
Reduce malnutrition in children aged 0 to 3 years.
To supply power to all settlements.
To ensure that 50% of rural residents have access to safe drinking water.
Every year, 1 million hectares of green space will be added.
90% of households will have access to banking services.

Drawbacks

Due to the dynamic changes in the country post-independence, there was a need for a commission that understood modern problems. The Planning Commission did not involve persons from state governments. The decisions were imposed by them on States and which led to conflicts. It was difficult to maintain centralized power in a big country like India. It is alleged that they also started interfering in the matters of the Finance Commission. Hence, It was replaced by NITI Aayog in the year 2015.